[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 2669]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING WILLIE BUNTON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON

                             of mississippi

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 17, 2011

  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. 
Willie Bunton, a very instrumental person in the Mayersville community.
  Mr. Bunton, Jr. was born on April 29, 1935 to Bertha and Willie 
Bunton, Sr. He was the son of a sharecropper who left school at the age 
of 15 to take care of his family because of the death of his father. 
Mr. Bunton worked tirelessly during the Civil Rights Era to register 
citizens to vote. He was also instrumental in integrating the schools 
in Rolling Fork and Mayersville. He met Louise Matthews, who later 
became his wife, and to this union were born 14 children. He and his 
wife owned and operated 14 & 1 Quick Stop for several years.
  Prior to opening his own business, Mr. Bunton worked with the Delta 
Opportunity Corporation where he was a job developer and recruiter 
fulfilling the capacity of job placement for the unemployed. Around 
this time, Mr. Bunton gained an interest in politics, and then ran for 
Supervisor-at-Large of District 3 in Issaquena County unsuccessfully. 
He then filed suit to bring the elections back to the district rather 
than at-large, and won. He then ran again in a special election in 1972 
and won. Mr. Bunton was the 7th black supervisor elected in the state 
of Mississippi, Mr. Bunton served on the board for 12 years with 
WWISCAA, served on the board of MACE for 4 years, and was also a member 
of the Freedom Democratic Party, which was formed because black 
democrats were not accepted by the regular Democratic Party, which 
defeated the regular Democratic Party and was seated at the National 
Democratic Convention. Mr. Bunton also helped to get sufficient water 
and sewer for the Town of Mayersville, and also had involvement with 
the corporation of the town. Mr. Bunton was also seriously involved in 
the Issaquena County Backwater Project.

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